The Survivors

‘Die Überlebenden’, GER 1996, directed by Andres Veiel, 88 min, with English subtitles, rated: 12

Three suicides leave long-lasting gaps among a group of classmates, many years after their graduation. Director and former classmate Andres Veiel organizes a reunion in search of clues. Despite huge differences in their personalities, the course their lives took and how each died, the three young men are indicative of life in a southwestern German small town in the 1980s. Pressure and career expectations from parents clash with adolescent desire for creative or sexual fulfillment. Even years later, the unspoken reflects the unspeakable that plagues the bereaved. 

Featuring: Helmut Günther, Georg Hummler, Veit Göller, Gudrun Göhlich, Amanda Kramer, Rose Mattenklott, Britta Mattenklott, Klaus Gergs, Hella Schmidt, Susan Motion, Bruno Jaschke, Doris Jung, Ina Kattwinkel, Herr Hofrichter, Frau Hofrichter, Martin Hofrichter